Consultant - Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission

Provide support to management of Strategic Information (SI) and monitoring for Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (EMTCT); Paediatric and adolescent HIV & TB care services

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

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For every child, Health

 1 Goal and Objective: The consultant will be expected to compile good practices and lessons learnt from program reports and through consultation with implementing partners.

Specifically, the consultant is expected to deliver the following:

2. A report on good practices and solutions linked to EMTCT. The consultant will identify and generate a list of all the promising good practices and lessons learn from program reports.
3. A synthesized list of promising practices for documentation. The consultant is expected to conduct preliminary synthesis to develop a narrative that led to success by prioritizing from a longer list of promising good practices, success factors and solutions that are crucial to the achievement. These will be validated in a consultative process with the implementing partners and beneficiaries as well as with technical experts to identify those that meet eligibility criteria for documentation.
4. Evidence generation. The consultant will conduct the field work to programme sites and beneficiaries to collect evidence on the selected promising good practices for documentation and from existing reports and related evaluations.
5. Good Practices Documentation report. The consultant is expected to produce a final report and documentaries, framed by an overall narrative for the success in South Africa2. Activities and Tasks: 

Documentation of good practices and solutions will follow a process outlined below:

1. Convene a meeting of relevant Government officials, agencies and partners who contribute to all initiatives in South Africa's 'last mile' plan towards elimination of MTCT in South Africa to discuss the content of Good Practice Guidance Note and generate common understanding on how to document good practices.
2. The consultant reviews the existing report-documents to identify the potential lessons learnt and good practices. This will include the review of all relevant documentation in the verification process.
3. Review of the compiled long list of lessons learnt and good practices: The relevant Government lead and IP Managers, UN agencies and partners will review the list and guide the consultant on which ones to carry forward for further analysis and documentation.
4. Field visits/documentation: Upon identification of potential areas for lessons learnt and good practice documentation, the consultant will develop a methodology and will then undertake field visits as necessary for on-site documentation. The purpose for this is to ensure that life stories and video clips are documented; but more importantly to subject the good practice area to a rigorous evidence check and to explore the viability of strategies used in implementation for possible replication.
5. Review of good practices documented: Good practices submitted will then be presented by the Good Practice team for discussion and validation. Comments will be consolidated and incorporated.
6. The consultant will then finalize the success narrative report highlighting lessons learnt and good practice.
7. Publication and sharing, including through different South-South cooperation modalities: A publishing firm will be procured to publish the good practice booklet. The publication specification will be developed by the team in collaboration with the Communications team, including simple stories and an appendix of the finalized submitted good practices and supporting documentation.

3. Work relationships:  The consultant will take direction from the Chief: Health & Nutrition Specialist at UNICEF but will work closely with partners including colleagues at the Department of Health and technical HIV/PMTCT experts.

4. Outputs/Deliverables: 

The outcome of the consultancy will be to produce a best practice/lessons learnt documentation narrative outlining South Africa's efforts to reach elimination of Mother to Child transmission.

Payment Schedule

Outline the payment schedule to be followed. The payment schedule should include the deadlines for the completion of tasks/activities (deliverables). The information may also be incorporated into the above sample table, as applicable.

Indicate whether interim payments are linked to deliverables or whether payment is a lump sum on completion of deliverables. Indicate that payment is upon satisfactory completion of deliverables.

Please note that the final remuneration will be negotiated by HR.

Desired competencies, technical background and experience: 

1. Education: An individual with any of the following postgraduate degree in epidemiology, biostatics, public health, social and allied sciences
2. States the specialized skills and/or training if needed; The candidate will preferably be able to demonstrate good writing and communication skills. The will have experience working with stakeholders and convening groups and facilitating meetings. The individual must have demonstrated ability, understanding of the South African public health system, the different levels of health care service delivery. Experience in working with the South African Departments of Health (national, province and district) and close partners is an asset.
3. A minimum of five years experience in the public health / HIV sector
4. Languages needed. English of a high standard is necessary.

Administrative issues: 

Close liaison with the Chief: Health & Nutrition by phone, email skype and occasional meetings if consultant resided in Gauteng. Workshops will be facilitated by the consultant at a venue in Brooklyn.

Conditions: 

Contractor to supply and use their own equipment, and work primarily from home. There will be the need to attend meetings at UNICEF and at Government offices in Pretoria, and also to host two workshops in Brooklyn with stakeholders. Contractor to provide separate costs for this in application letter.

If consultant lives in Gauteng there will be no travel costs paid by UNICEF.

If the consultant is based outside of Gauteng, please provide separate travel costs (flights and if relevant, accommodation for three nights's max). All travel is by most economical fare and reimbursement as per UNICEF policy.

• As per UNICEF DFAM policy, payment is made against approved deliverables. No advance payment is allowed unless in exceptional circumstances against bank guarantee, subject to a maximum of 30 per cent of the total contract value in cases where advance purchases, for example for supplies or travel, may be necessary.
• The candidate selected will be governed by and subject to UNICEF's General Terms and Conditions for individual contracts.

How to Apply:

Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit their application to the following link: https://www.unicef.org/about/employ/?job=516858 by 19 October, 2018.

This notice will also appear on http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/, http://www.unicef.org/southafrica, UN Job List, UN Jobs.

In your cover letter, state your experience, provide examples of work if relvant, and please indicate your ability, availability and daily rate (in ZAR) to undertake the terms of reference above (including admin cost if applicable).  

In addition provide a document with seperate travel costs if residing outside of Gauteng to attend and facilitate the two workshops (two return flights and 2 night's accommodation in Brooklyn, Pretoria). 

Applications submitted without a fee rate will not be considered.

We invite you to watch a short video on the system on how to apply: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePgDIQ9RVYs&feature=youtu.be 

If you have not been contacted within 1.5 months of the closing date please accept that your application was unsuccessful. Regret emails will be sent only to shortlisted/contacted candidates. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male South African nationals from all religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation

"UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual exploitation and abuse, and on any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks."